Antonio Colella (born 4 September 1961 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) is a former Italian rugby union player and a current sports director. He played as a lock.

Club career

Colella played for

L'Aquila Rugby L'Aquila Rugby 1936 was an Italian rugby union club based in L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo. The official colours of the club were black and green, the colours of the city of L'Aquila. The club went into liquidation and disbanded in 2018. Hi ...

, from 1981/82 to 1999/2000. He had his first game at 17 January 1982, aged 20 years old, thanks to head coach

Loreto Cucchiarelli Loreto Cucchiarelli (born 21 July 1943) is an Italian former rugby union player and a current coach. He played as flanker. Biography Cucchiarelli was born in Borgorose, in the province of Rieti. He played for L'Aquila Rugby, where he won the team ...

. He won twice the National Championship of Excellence, in 1981/82 and 1993/94. He finished his career at Rieti Rugby, where he played from 2000/01 to 2001/02.

International career

He had 41 caps for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, from 1983 to 1990, scoring 2 tries, 8 points on aggregate. He had his first game at the 13-6 win over

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, at 10 April 1983, in Buzau, for the 1982–83 FIRA Trophy. He was called for the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

, playing in two games and remaining scoreless. He had his last game at the 9-16 loss to Romania, at 14 April 1990, for the 1989–90 FIRA Trophy. He was called for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

, but he was left uncapped.Antonio Colella International Statistics
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Post-player activity

Colella has been sports director at L'Aquila Rugby, after his retirement. In 2006, he was in charge of the U-15 section.

References

International Statistics

* 1961 births Living people Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Sportspeople from Rome Rugby union locks 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players {{italy-rugbyunion-bio-stub